Hotshot’s Boy Done Grow’d Up: The Panderers, "Hotshot’s Boy" EP

You can hear the roots buried firmly in this coal-miner/tobacco farmer’s son as Scott Wynn and the Panderers hit you fast and strong with the five songs that comprise Hotshot’s Boy. The liner notes explain that Wynn’s “one-eyed, 8th-grade educated” father was called Hotshot. I can imagine the wiry, hard-working men of the Appalachians, calling out with coal-dust voices, “Hey, Hotshot’s Boy, tell yer daddy the next round’s on him and it’s Jack’s ‘r better to open!”

The opening track, “Come On,” is irresistible. You can’t not move and groove and bounce and flounce and smile all the while listening to it. Tracks two and four, “Dig” and “Shane” seem to take you down somewhere darker; perhaps those coal mines, perhaps the soul of a man with hands hardened by hammer and plow, heart hardened by – what else? – a woman. My favorite track, partly because it’s just a bad-ass tune and partly for personal reasons (i.e. a woman), is the hump-track, “Montana.” The closer, “Mirrorball,” feels like more of an afterthought or an inside joke. It’s not a bad song, it just doesn’t seem to mesh with the rest of the disc; though I admit, it’s growing on me, especially the haunting, string-like, synth-work.

All-in-all, this quick intro. to The Panderers goes on my top-shelf for it’s spare, raw, tough, stripped down playing, and the ambiguous and fresh lyrics. Grab your copy soon, I guarantee it will hold its place on your top shelf, right between The Raconteurs and Hank Williams.

Check out The Panderers here.

Interviewed on "Destination Out"

Mike Johnston, host of the great experimental jazz program "Destination Out" on WCMU Public Radio and bassist for Faruq Z. Bey & The Northwoods Improvisers, called me the other day for an interview and to have me read some poetry for his show.

The interview will air as part of his next broadcast, Sunday, November 16; 11:00 pm (Eastern Time).

If you are in mid- or northern Michigan or the Algoma District of Ontario, you can tune in on one of these stations:

89.5 Mt. Pleasant
90.1 Bay City
91.7 Alpena
95.7 Oscoda
96.9 Standish
98.3 Sault Ste. Marie
103.9 Harbor Springs

Otherwise, you can listen to it online here: http://wcmu.org/radio/listenlivepage.html

We discuss the link between jazz and poetry, current politics, and I read several pieces from both The Moon Cracks Open: A Field Guide to the Birds and Jihad bil Qalam: To Strive by Means of the Pen.

New on DVD: The Synesthetic Madness of The Process

“We’ve been possessed by this otherworldly soul that this band has.
It pulls us along. It’s got a spirit of its own; beyond us.”

–Dave Asher, discussing his band, The Process,
during a 2001 radio interview by Marc Beaudin
(CAGE Sessions – On the Air, WUCX 90.1 FM)

It’s been a lot of years, a lot of shows, a lot of recordings, since I first saw The Process perform in a mid-Michigan bar back in the late-late 80’s. But what immediately hooked me at that initial show is just as evident today: These guys mean what they play. They mean every note, every word, every drumbeat and guitar riff. They mean every ounce of muscle and soul that they freely spend each moment that they are on stage.

To be in the audience at one of The Process’ shows, is to have your mind, heart, and body taken apart and put back together in a slightly better way. Your senses merge and you see the music; hear the lights bouncing off the walls; taste the moment.

The next best thing to being there in the flesh (and soul) has recently been released on DVD: The Process: Live at the Vassar Theater.

First of all, I want to commend the seldom-thanked in the music business – the folks behind the scenes of this production. The technical aspects of this release are extraordinary. From the direction of Gary Bredow, to the live mix by Art Bissonette, the live recording by Lavel Jackson, the camera work by Bredow and Per Franchell, the lighting and sound by Bissonette Sound, the filming and editing by Big Bang Films, the cover art by Steven Gotts, the photography by Rick Morrow, and the production assistance by Tim O’Brian, Chuck Harrington and Seth Payton; every part builds perfectly to a Whole, which provides the optimum showcase for the talents of the band.

And what a band. This recording offers a seamless sound and energy created by four people who, by all indication, share a common soul. With David Asher on vocals and guitar, Garrick Owen on lead guitar, Bill Heffelfinger on bass, keyboards, programming and backing vocals, and Gabe Gonzalez on drums; they are, individually and as a group, at the top of their form. Mature and consummate musicians who’ve lost none of the edge and passion of their younger days.

The DVD consists of a concert of 10 songs, old favorites and new gems both, and it kicks off in signature Process style: a blaze of lighting and fog effects through which bleeds their hopped-up rendition of Wendy Carlos’ haunting and exhilarating “Title Music to A Clockwork Orange.” Glimpses of the musicians are seen in ultraviolent flashes of light. The relentless drumming; like a jet engine preparing for take-off. The tension builds.

And just when you are about to either rush the stage or run like hell, the music breaks into “Blood Runnings” from Craven Dog. A man appears with a skull for a head and covered in a brilliant Rasta robe, like an ancient, long-dead Ethiopian King. He stares into the audience – into and through each person – and now it’s clear: there’s no turning back. The concert has begun.

Song after song, culled from the vast library of Process material, is expertly and whole-heartedly presented. The evolution of each is remarkable, and it seems that their original studio versions were blueprints, and these are the fully-realized structures: architectural masterpieces; holy temples and towers of defiance against all negative forces – all evildoers, downpressers, and craven dogs. The songs are history lessons, incantations, and calls to revolution – danceable social justice and rockin’ revelations. The musicians push their instruments beyond the boundaries defined by standard rock or reggae. They’ve fused these along with funk, rap, and jazz, and raised up a new entity – something that can only be described as “Processian.”

My only issue with this DVD is that the transitions from song to song could be smoother. I would prefer if the camera were kept rolling to capture the incidental material between numbers – to give us more of a live concert feel, and more of a glimpse into the personalities of the band. But this is a small complaint that is quickly forgotten once each song kicks in.

The recording closes also in signature Process style: the resurrection of “Pigman.” Part myth. Part nightmare. Part parable. … He possesses Garrick. The guitar becomes a weapon. … Twenty-seven dogs run wild in the woods. … Death, mayhem, and badass rock’n’roll. … Oink. Oink. … Pigman’s in heaven.

And so are you.


[Buy The Process: Live at the Vassar Theater on CD Baby]
[Visit The Process online]

The History & Appreciation of Classical Music

First there was Bach. Then came Mozart. And later, there was Beethoven. And a bunch of other guys were thrown in among them. Brahms and Paganini, most notably.

In all of western music, only jazz comes anywhere close to classical’s ability to hear and translate the voice of God, though in the best jazz, it’s more the voice of the Devil, yet no less sublime. Paganini and Mingus were fluent in both languages.

When you go to a symphony concert, don’t try to sit up front: those seats are reserved for the people with too much money to need to really hear the music. The front row of the first balcony is the best: here the sound is at its most full and balanced. And no one will be able to turn around and see your tears.

And always remember: Cabernet for pieces in a F, C or G; and Merlot for D and B-flat.

Tribute to Patrick

The Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's Tribute to Patrick Flynn: dear friend, comrade, fellow-traveler, inspiration. ...



The world lost an important part of the Song with his passing.

"Rwanda" by Faruq Z. Bey & The Northwoods Improvisers

There are lions and oribi roaming through the savannah during the opening mystery of this song. Dark birds of prey follow their movements.

Mike Gilmore, Nick Ashton and Mike Johnston create a percussive landscape filled with shadow and flashes of light. The flutes of Faruq Z. Bey and Mike Carey begin the journey like winds over the tall grasses and rolling hills, heading toward the volatile waters of Lake Kivu.

When the bass of Johnston thunders into being, you are moving across the surface of the lake, feeling each crest and trough of the blue-black waves of Kivu. The flutes are now calling the barefoot fishermen to dance, dreaming of barbel, catfish and tilapia.

The Tenor Sax of Bey first, and then Skeeter Shelton, pull you into two worlds: you’re still on that deep and dangerous African lake, but at the same time, you are now viewing the streets of Detroit from the backseat of a slow-moving Buick. It’s late summer and the windows are rolled down. The tires hiss and the streetlights flash across your face.

Gilmore’s marimba solo brings you back to that Rwandan plain. Though now you are the lion, stalking the oribi. The saxes come back in, this time with Carey joining the drive and leading the expedition.

Finally, your are returned to the opening mystery. The bass and percussion dissolve the water and land into ethereal winds, and those dark raptors rise in widening circles until they disappear into the silence.


[Faruq Z. Bey & the Northwoods Improvisers Website]

An excerpt of this song is featured in the book trailer for The Moon Cracks Open:


Find more videos like this on Book Marketing Network

The Process Release Performance DVD

Michigan's highly-acclaimed and long-lasting "rock-reggae madmen" are back again with another release of their unique and masterful musical energy. Scanning my shelves, I count eight CD's from these guys. You can find most of them on CD Baby (watch out for other bands using the same or similar name), but if you've never had the chance to witness the mind-blowing, highly theatrical stage show; you won't know what you're missing. This DVD should help fill in the gap. ...

[The Process Website]
[The Process at MySpace]

from The Process' blog on MySpace:

10-02-2008
For Immediate Release:

Reggae rock group THE PROCESS will release it's live DVD
"THE PROCESS: LIVE VASSAR THEATER", filmed at the historic venue last March.

The release party will be held at Whites Bar (2609 State St Saginaw, MI 48602),
Saturday October 11th at 9:00 PM.

The DVD features blazing performances of some of the groups best known songs,
as well a a spectacular film and laser light show.

Opening the event will be guests Ben MacArthur and Friends.




DVD SONG LIST:

Blood Runnings
Jah Made the Herb
Craven Dog
Rapdown
Rising Up
Mist Of Time
Rasta Soldier
Run Them Down
Spread the Money
Pigman